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Oswald Cobblepot
Pablo Peter Humboldt |affiliation=Fish Mooney (formerly) Maroni crime family (formerly) Falcone crime family (formerly) Cobblepot crime family |occupation=Gangster Crime Lord Restaurant Manager at Bamonte's Restaurant (formerly) Owner of Oswald's |actor=Robin Lord Taylor |family = Gertrud Kapelput (mother; deceased) Elijah Van Dahl (father; deceased) Grace Van Dahl (stepmother) Charles Van Dahl (stepbrother) Sasha Van Dahl (stepsister) |status = Alive |first = }} Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot is the former umbrella-man of Fish Mooney, one-time underling of Salvatore Maroni and spy for Carmine Falcone, until Fish exposed him to Maroni. Following that, he ran a nightclub as part of the Falcone Crime Family and acted as Falcone's right-hand man. However, he soon betrayed Falcone, almost killing him. After a gang conflict, he took over Falcone's organization and after Fish and Maroni were out of the way he became an influential and powerful gangster. Biography Beginnings Oswald Cobblepot entered the criminal underworld through Fish Mooney and her gang, where he received the nickname "Penguin", which he despises. Ambition of a Traitor Oswald Cobblepot was tired of being a lackey of Fish Mooney. He quickly sold her out to Crispus Allen and Renee Montoya of his own free will. Fish soon finds out and severely injures Cobblepot. After his assault by Fish, Falcone met him after saving James Gordon and Harvey Bullock and made a deal with him: in exchange for a secret he has, Falcone would assign Gordon to kill Cobblepot in hopes of persuading the detective into sparing him with the knowledge he was one of the few police officers with a moral compass, he would return to Gotham in secret and work his way into Maroni's grace as a snitch. Falcone agreed and asked for the secret Cobblepot has: Fish and Nikoai are secret lovers with plans to overthrow Falcone. James Gordon is then assigned by Carmine Falcone to dispose of the traitor. Gordon tricks Harvey Bullock by pretending to kill Cobblepot, who drops into the river. He resurfaces once the cops are gone, however, and proceeds to murder a fisherman for his sandwich. He then sets out to create his own criminal empire. Later, he was in the countryside after walking for a while, and he attempts to hitch-hike his way back to Gotham City. He is picked up by two jocks in an SUV, and is grateful for their help. However, they make fun of him and ask him if anyone has ever told him that he walked like a penguin; infuriated, Cobblepot broke a beer bottle and stabbed the man in the passenger seat before taking over the SUV. Hiding the body in a garbage bag, Cobblepot drove to a small trailer park and rented a small trailer for $100. He attempts to call the surviving kid's mother to get $10,000 in exchange for his release, but she does not believe him, and he, in turn, confronts the hostage once she hangs up. Oswald later arrived back in Gotham via bus. While waiting at a street corner he was recognized by a thug, who sought to capture and take him to Fish Mooney. As the man dragged him through a tunnel, Cobblepot disabled and murdered him with a pocket knife, took his money and used it to buy himself a tuna sandwich. He later took a job at a restaurant where he met and befriended Sal Maroni. He later made a surprise visit to Gordon. Gordon angrily confronted him on returning to Gotham and putting him, his fiance and Oswald at risk but reluctantly takes Cobblepot on as an informant when he tells Gordon about an upcoming gang war involving Arkham Asylum, and gives him information that helps him thwart an assassination attempt on Mayor Aubrey James. Cobblepot hires a gang of thugs to rob the restaurant so he can save the restaurant's money and endear himself to Maroni. Sure enough, Maroni promotes him to restaurant manager after the original restaurant manager was killed during the robbery. Cobblepot later visits the thugs he hired and kills them with poisoned cannoli. After their deaths, Oswald left with the money. Sal Maroni makes plans to rob a casino owned by Carmine Falcone. Carmine Falcone meets with the mob leaders on his side to detail about what to do with Sal Maroni. Sal Maroni later watches the news of the "Viper" drug where he thinks that they might be of good use. Oswald tells Sal Maroni that he knows the janitor there that might be of help to them. Sal Maroni claims that "Penguin" is a good name for him. Oswald reveals his real name and how he used to work for Fish Mooney until Carmine Falcone's men tried to kill him. Sal Maroni then pins Oswald's head to the table. Sal Maroni later sends his right-hand man to pick up James Gordon at the police station where Sal Maroni wants to see him about Oswald Cobblepot. James Gordon is brought to Sal Maroni at his restaurant where he wants to get confirmation about Oswald's story about Carmine Falcone to determine who is telling the truth. Sal Maroni hears from Jim Gordon about his investigation on Thomas and Martha Wayne and how he covered up Oswald's death to fool Carmine Falcone, Fish Mooney, and the Gotham City Police Department. Sal Maroni sees that Oswald is right and spares his life while letting James Gordon go. Sal Maroni states to James Gordon to keep their meeting private and that he might call on him again. After James Gordon leaves, Sal Maroni plans to use Oswald Cobblepot in their fight against Carmine Falcone. Later that night, Oswald and Sal await their men to come back from their heist at the casino. Upon the heist being complete, Sal has Frankie drive off. Saving Gordon When he returns home, Oswald's mother continues to suspect he is involved with a woman. Denying this, Oswald does mention that he has made friends with James Gordon. He then takes a bath and converses with his mother while soaking in a clawfoot bathtub. Meanwhile, having been identified as the perpetrator in Oswald's murder, Gordon is arrested and brought back to the Gotham City Police Department where he protests his innocence and Harvey Bullock is also apprehended when he comes to his defense. Suddenly, Oswald arrives, which shocks everyone. Cobblepot leads Maroni's men to a warehouse owned by Falcone's underling, Nikolai, killing him and his fellow operatives inside. Cobblepot then stabs Frankie Carbone with the help of two Maroni operatives which he brought them over to his side. Cobblepot then meets with Falcone, and a flashback reveals that Cobblepot offered to be Falcone's spy when he was caught informing on Mooney. Oswald attempts to make amends with Fish by offering her a broach as a gift. She accepts the gift, but then stabs him in the arm with it to punish him for snitching on her, claiming that he "hasn't suffered enough". Oswald then kidnapped Timothy, the young man who replaced him as Fish's personal assistant. He pressured Timothy into spilling Fish's secrets, although Timothy had very little access to secret information. After finishing the interrogation, he ordered Timothy killed to preserve the peace between the mobs and then limped out of the room. Oswald later confronted Fish's spy, Liza, and threatened to tell Falcone that Liza was spying on him. He ultimately agreed not to, but left Liza with the knowledge that he knew her secret. Oswald was later brought before Falcone, believing Maroni behind the attack on his money vault. Cobblepot states that Maroni didn't commit the armory robbery, as there is a mole working for someone else, possibly for Fish Mooney. When he sees Liza enter the room, he immediately has his answer but remains silent as Falcone assigns him to find the mole. Oswald later tells his driver that he's not ready to rat out Liza yet, labeling her a "time bomb. In his time in Maroni's ranks, he's given power enough to extort the fishermen on the mob boss's turf but is arrested by the GCPD after trying to squeeze more protection money out of them. He is eventually bailed out by Maroni, who makes it clear that he initiated the arrest himself to remind Oswald of his reach and teach him a lesson about hubris. Attack on GCPD While dinning at a restaurant with Maroni and several other gangsters, Falcone called him and ordered him to go see him. But before he could so, Jack Buchinsky caused an electric shock that forced Maroni and the other gangsters (including Oswald) to go to the GCPD for protection. The Electrocutioner then orchestrated another electric shock, this time much more powerful. Before Buchinsky could kill Maroni and his gangsters, Gordon stopped him and Aaron Danzig. Getting rid of Fish After the Electrocutioner problem was solved, The Penguin went to Falcone's place, where Carmine reveals that Fish "captured" Liza and in turn for her return to Falcone, Falcone must leave Gotham. Oswald changes the plan when he reveals that Liza is a mole, Falcone sends Victor Zsasz and some henchwomen to get rid of Fish's thugs, Falcone then captures Fish and Butch Gilzean. Owning the Nightclub Oswald then became a high-ranking member of Falcone's gang and changed the nightclub's name to Oswald's and pink neon fish was replaced by a blue neon umbrella. Oswald however, was faced by Fish and Butch who escaped Falcone's torturer, Bob. Before they could do something ugly, Zsasz arrived and captured Butch but Fish escaped. Helping Gordon Oswald also helped Gordon when Gordon wanted Arnold Flass arrested for murder, he had Gabriel interrogate Derek Delaware for information. Gabe then gave the info to Gordon. The Reveal Fish revealed to Maroni that Oswald was a spy for Falcone, because of that Maroni had Oswald and him taken to a trip in a shack owned by Maroni in the woods. Oswald attempted to kill Maroni, only to find that the gun had no bullets. Oswald was nearly killed by Maroni when the latter ordered Duffy to destroy a car with Oswald in. Duffy was coerced to release Oswald under the threat of Falcone killing him. Planning Maroni's assassination After being freed from Maroni, The Penguin plotted the assassination of the Italian Crime Lord in a bar named Lidia's. Oswald then convinced Lidia to hand over the bar to him while she still tending to the bar. Oswald hired the hired killer Connor to kill Maroni, he had Butch hide some guns at the bar, after Butch was brainwashed by Zsasz. Sparking the War When Maroni, his hitman Tommy Bones and some other gangsters were eating at Lidia's, Connor arrived and attempted to shoot Maroni, but found out that his gun had no bullets. Maroni's men then killed Connor. Oswald revealed that it was intentional as he wanted Maroni and Falcone to kill each other so he could take over. It worked, a bloody war began. Taking Over Cobblepot then attempted to murder Falcone at the hospital, but Falcone was saved by Gordon, who in turn saved both Cobblepot and Falcone's lives by killing Maroni's hit men. Gordon, Bullock, Falcone, Gilzean and Oswald then went to an old warehouse owned by Carmine, Falcone claimed that everyone who knew about the warehouse were dead. He was wrong, Fish knew about it and she was surely alive. She had arrived in Gotham just as the war reached its ending point. Fish overwhelmed them and tied them. She then called Maroni to make a deal. After Maroni offended Fish, she shot Maroni in the forehead, killing him instantly. A shootout ensued and Fish eventually won. The Penguin was however freed by Butch during the skirmish. When Fish was talking to the captives, Oswald arrived with a war machine gun and massacred all of Fish's thugs, finishing the last thug with a pistol. Penguin eventually found Fish in the rooftop, and fought her. While they were fighting, Gilzean shot both in the legs, The Penguin then knocked Butch out and punched Fish, eventually pushing her in the sea, killing his nemesis once and for all. He then shouted "I'm the king of Gotham!". Crime Lord Life The Penguin then began a classic crime lord life, collecting debts. After Gordon was discharged of service by Loeb, the Penguin said that he would convince Loeb to reintegrate him if he collected a debt from Odgen Barker, who was killed in the process. He then intimidated Loeb to reintegrate him. He later appears with several of his thugs in his place having a drink, and Bullock visit him. Bullock says that he will always be seen as Fish's umbrella man and that he wants revenge on Fish's death. Bullock is then hold at gunpoint by Oswald's bodyguards and exits the room. Oswald angrily breaks his cup, but quickly calms down and asks for another drink. Alliance with Galavan Oswald was forced by Theo Galavan to work for him or else his mother would die. Oswald and Butch murdered Janice Caulfield and he had Zsasz murder Randall Hobbs, though Zsasz failed. He was later confronted by Gordon, who knew about the murders. Oswald said that Gordon had dirt on his name, since he collected a debt for him and killed an innocent man. Searching for Galavan's weakness After Penguin killed Janice Caulfield and failed to kill Hobbs, he returns to Galavan and asks for his mother's release, stating that he would still do Galavan's bidding. Theo denies and tells him to leave. Penguin is now determined to take down Galavan and get revenge on him. Butch advises him to kidnap Tabitha and trade her for Cobblepot's mother but Penguin doubts that Theo loves Tabitha as much as Penguin loves his mother. Theo later sends Tabitha to Cobblepot to give him a list of multiple buildings owned by Wayne Enterprises which Theo wants burned down. Theo also wants Cobblepot to steal an old knife out of a safe in one of the building. He arranges for Cobblepot to receive Bunderslaw's eye which is needed to open the safe. Penguin is able to get the knife and burn down the buildings. However, as he plans to find out what drives Theo in order to destroy him Penguin meets Edwige, an old associate of Butch to find out the history of the knife. Edwige tells him that the knife is the Wayne Family Crest which was used 200 years ago by an ancestor of Bruce Wayne to cut of the hand of Caleb Dumas after the latter was accused of raping Celestine Wayne. The angered Waynes forced Dumas and his entire family into exile where the Dumas changed their name to Galavan. Penguin learns that Theo is a descendant of the Dumas and wants revenge on the Waynes. Penguin is glad because this means Theo is driven by emotion and thereby vulnerable. He then plans for Butch to seemingly change sides, claiming that Cobblepot is too mad to serve, and get into Galavan's business, but in reality plans for Butch to search for Oswald's mother. To not give Theo the opportunity to doubt Butch's story, Penguin cuts off one of his hands.Rise of the Villains: Scarification Down Fall Not knowing of Butch being reprogrammed by Tabitha, Theo sent Butch back to Cobblepot as a double agent and set a trap for him. Butch tells Cobblepot of his mother's location, and Cobblepot goes to the spot with his man, only to be confronted by Theo and Tabitha. Cobblepot orders his man to shoot Theo and Tabitha only to be betrayed by Butch. Cobblepot then pleas for mercy, asking Theo to let his mother go and he will die in her place instead. Tabitha lets Cobblepot's mother leave, only to throw a knife at her in the back. Cobblepot ends up taunting Theo for being a coward and never do the dirty work himself, tricking Theo to get close enough for Cobblepot to stab him in the neck and escaping. Cobblepot later raids Theo's Mayor victory party with the rest of his men, only to be confronted by Jim and wounded by Tabitha. Cobblepot later encountered Nygma in a forest while Nygma was trying to bury his girlfriend's body. Cobblepot was hiding in an abandoned trailer in the forest, and asked Nygma to help him before passing out from the previously inflicted gun shot by Tabitha. When He woke up, Nygma wanted to get some advice from Cobblepot for how to be a murderer, only to be rejected by Cobblepot who states that he is not interested in giving advice. Cobblepot lost his will to extract revenge or fight as he sees that he is the reason for his mother's death. Nygma suggests that love is a weakness and now that Cobblepot's mother is dead, and Kristin is dead, they are both free man with nothing to lose, making them powerful. This sparks Cobblepot's will again to recover and take revenge. A Common Enemy After failing to convict Theo for kidnapping Ex-Mayor James, Jim was kidnapped by policemen that Theo brided. Theo faught Jim in a duel and won, and told the policemen to kill Jim slowly. The policemen were then shot by Gabe after Theo left, and rescued by Cobblepot. Cobblepot brought Jim to Nygma's place along with few men still siding with Cobblepot and they prepare to strike at Theo's apartment. Selina later joins the team and gave them a secret passage into the apartment. They busted into the place before Bruce is sacrificed by Father Creel. Theo, Tabitha, and Silver escapes to a upper floor. Tabitha knocks Theo out when he tries to kill Silver for saving Bruce, leaving Theo behind to die and escapes with Silver via parachuting. Jim arrives and arrested Theo, only for Theo to taunt that he will just get away again. Captain Barnes arrives to arrest Theo and stop Jim for doing anything stupid, but was later knocked out by Cobblepot. Jim and Cobblepot later takes Theo somewhere near the sea. Cobblepot beats Theo with a bat repeatedly, and Theo pleas to Jim for a swift death, and Jim shoots him in response. Cobblepot puts an umbrella through Theo's throat afterwards. Descend To Arkham After the death of Theo, Cobblepot is left with nobody and wanders the streets. He is later arrested by Barnes. Cobblepot confesses to the murder of Mayor Theo and claims no one else is involved, so that Jim and Nygma will not be arrested as well. Cobblpot also claims that he is insane, which is why he killed the Mayor. He is later sent to Arkham Asylum and greeted by Dr. Hugo Strange. After a brief session with Dr. Strange, Cobblepot was told he will be treated with proper techniques, which the idea of it terrifies Cobblepot. When Jim visited Arkham Asylum to set up a trap for Mr.Freeze, Cobblepot tells Jim that he needs to help Cobblepot to get out because they are doing terrible things to him. But Jim replies coldly that Cobblepot is insane, as he claimed, and so he needed treatment. This angered Cobblepot, causing him to yell out that Jim was the one who killed Theo as he is being dragged away. After some therapy, Cobblepot turned a lot gentler, calmer, and lost all violence tenancy through only a small amount of sessions. He is declared sane again and is freed by Dr. Strange, who claims to have bigger plans for Cobblepot after his release. Meeting his father While at his mother's grave, Oswald met his long-lost father Elijah Van Dahl. While at Elijah's house, Oswald learned that Gertrud used to work as a cook for Elijah where they had been forbidden to make love. Upon Oswald meeting his stepmother and stepsiblings, Elijah holds a toast to their family. Physical Appearance Cobblepot is a rather skinny young man of average height, pale skin and noticeably bright blue eyes. His nose is slightly crooked and pointy, like a beak and he is usually grinning. His black hair looks like always wet and messily plastered on his head, with some spiky ends pointing erratically at the top of his head. His attire consists of a white shirt with a black, Continental Cross tie with its ends tucked inside a silk, purple checkered vest and a black coat with dark green lapels, black pants and matching shoes, and mostly carrying a black umbrella. Due the torture he suffered for betraying Fish Mooney, one of his knees was probably permanently damaged or never healed right, forcing him to walk almost waddling "like a penguin". Personality At first glance Cobblepot appears to be milquetoast, subservient, and somewhat of a sycophant. In reality he is an ambitious and cunning sociopath who is willing to do whatever it takes to obtain power. Despite this hunger, Cobblepot is patient and uses his high intellect to concoct plans in order to reach his goals. Virtually every move he makes is premeditated to a certain degree. Even when things don't go exactly as planned, Cobblepot is highly adept at playing the hand he is dealt for the best. Among the more darker parts of Cobblepot's personality is his tendency for violence. He is more than willing to kill someone when he feels it's necessary and does so without pity or remorse. He speaks with a constant smile, often talking fast and shaky, with variant levels of flattery to whom he speaks to, often sarcastically. Despite his malice and ruthlessness, he has a softer side and a degree of humanity when it comes to his mother whom he loves deeply and devotedly. At first, calling him Penguin made him very infuriated, to the point of murderous intents, but later, he decided to accept and adopt the epithet, admitting that it "grew on him". With the current outfit, name and mannerism, he is becoming closer to his original concept in the comic books. The rapidity and precision of his Biblical references when he was picked up outside Gotham by the church group suggest that Christianity played a role in his upbringing. His facial expressions declare that, like the spoiled only child he seems to be, Oswald is always picked on by others and the universe, rather than ever being at fault himself. MO So far, Cobblepot himself kills with a blade, or improvised equivalent, slashing with great violence but surprising accuracy. He has completed 'dispassionate' kills, such as that of Frankie Carbone, but seems to prefer to leave the termination to others, in general, if he is not emotionally involved. Since "Penguin's Umbrella", he has bestowed a final kiss on the top of the head, something like a benediction or absolution, to those he murdered or had killed. Appearances * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Season 2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * }} Trivia *The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger and he was introduced in Detective Comics #58 (December 1941). According to Kane the character was inspired from the then advertising mascot of Kool cigarettes – a penguin with a top hat and cane. Finger thought the image of high-society gentlemen in tuxedos was reminiscent of emperor penguins.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin_(comics) Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin at Wikipedia] *While most versions of Penguin tend to accept and like the name 'Penguin', this version has a great dislike for the name, even going so far as to kill someone, if he can get away with it. However, as time goes on he doesn't seem to be bothered by it anymore, possibly tending to accept and like it like most versions. *Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock and Oswald are the only characters in Season 1 who appear in all the episodes of that season. *In the episode "Mad Grey Dawn" Oswald mentions that he is 31 years old. Gallery *Oswald Cobblepot/Gallery Quotes *Oswald Cobblepot/Quotes References Category:Characters Category:Characters from the comics Category:Antagonists